McCormack Gavin R, Petersen Jennie, Ghoneim Dalia, Blackstaffe Anita, Naish Calli, Doyle-Baker Patricia K
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
JMIR Form Res. 2022 May 3;6(5):e37348. doi: 10.2196/37348.
Health-promotion interventions incorporating wearable technology or eHealth apps can encourage participants to self-monitor and modify their physical activity and sedentary behavior. In 2020, a Calgary (Alberta, Canada) recreational facility developed and implemented a health-promotion intervention (Vivo Play Scientist program) that provided a commercially available wearable activity tracker and a customized eHealth dashboard to participants free of cost.
The aim of this study was to independently evaluate the effectiveness of the Vivo Play Scientist program for modifying physical activity and sedentary behavior during the initial 8 weeks of the piloted intervention.
Our concurrent mixed methods study included a single-arm repeated-measures quasiexperiment and semistructured interviews. Among the 318 eligible participants (≥18 years of age) registered for the program, 87 completed three self-administered online surveys (baseline, T; 4 weeks, T; and 8 weeks, T). The survey captured physical activity, sedentary behavior, use of wearable technology and eHealth apps, and sociodemographic characteristics. Twenty-three participants were recruited using maximal-variation sampling and completed telephone-administered semistructured interviews regarding their program experiences. Self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior outcomes were statistically compared among the three time points using Friedman tests. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data.
The mean age of participants was 39.8 (SD 7.4) years and 75% (65/87) were women. Approximately half of all participants had previously used wearable technology (40/87, 46%) or an eHealth app (43/87, 49%) prior to the intervention. On average, participants reported wearing the activity tracker (Garmin Vivofit4) for 6.4 (SD 1.7) days in the past week at T and for 6.0 (SD 2.2) days in the past week at T. On average, participants reported using the dashboard for 1.6 (SD 2.1) days in the past week at T and for 1.0 (SD 1.8) day in the past week at T. The mean time spent walking at 8 weeks was significantly higher compared with that at baseline (T 180.34 vs T 253.79 minutes/week, P=.005), with no significant differences for other physical activity outcomes. Compared to that at baseline, the mean time spent sitting was significantly lower at 4 weeks (T 334.26 vs T 260.46 minutes/day, P<.001) and 8 weeks (T 334.26 vs T 267.13 minutes/day, P<.001). Significant differences in physical activity and sitting between time points were found among subgroups based on the household composition, history of wearable technology use, and history of eHealth app use. Participants described how wearing the Vivofit4 device was beneficial in helping them to modify physical activity and sedentary behavior. The social support, as a result of multiple members of the same household participating in the program, motivated changes in physical activity. Participants experienced improvements in their mental, physical, and social health.
Providing individuals with free-of-cost commercially available wearable technology and an eHealth app has the potential to support increases in physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in the short term, even under COVID-19 public health restrictions.
结合可穿戴技术或电子健康应用程序的健康促进干预措施可以鼓励参与者自我监测并改变其身体活动和久坐行为。2020年，加拿大艾伯塔省卡尔加里的一家休闲设施开发并实施了一项健康促进干预措施（Vivo Play Scientist计划），该计划免费为参与者提供了一款市售的可穿戴活动追踪器和一个定制的电子健康仪表盘。
本研究的目的是独立评估Vivo Play Scientist计划在试点干预的最初8周内改变身体活动和久坐行为的有效性。
我们的同期混合方法研究包括单臂重复测量准实验和半结构化访谈。在该计划登记的318名符合条件的参与者（≥18岁）中，87人完成了三项自我管理的在线调查（基线，T；4周，T；8周，T）。该调查收集了身体活动、久坐行为、可穿戴技术和电子健康应用程序的使用情况以及社会人口学特征。使用最大变异抽样法招募了23名参与者，并完成了关于他们参与该计划经历的电话半结构化访谈。使用弗里德曼检验在三个时间点之间对自我报告的身体活动和久坐行为结果进行统计学比较。采用主题分析法对访谈数据进行分析。
参与者的平均年龄为39.8（标准差7.4）岁，75%（65/87）为女性。在所有参与者中，约一半人在干预前曾使用过可穿戴技术（40/87，46%）或电子健康应用程序（43/87，49%）。平均而言，参与者报告在T时过去一周佩戴活动追踪器（佳明Vivofit4）的天数为6.4（标准差1.7）天，在T时过去一周为6.0（标准差2.2）天。平均而言，参与者报告在T时过去一周使用仪表盘的天数为1.6（标准差2.1）天，在T时过去一周为1.0（标准差1.8）天。与基线时相比，8周时步行的平均时间显著增加（T时180.34分钟/周 vs T时253.79分钟/周，P = 0.005），其他身体活动结果无显著差异。与基线时相比，4周时（T时334.26分钟/天 vs T时260.46分钟/天，P < 0.001）和8周时（T时334.26分钟/天 vs T时267.13分钟/天，P < 0.001）久坐的平均时间显著减少。根据家庭构成、可穿戴技术使用史和电子健康应用程序使用史，在亚组中发现了时间点之间身体活动和久坐情况的显著差异。参与者描述了佩戴Vivofit4设备如何有助于他们改变身体活动和久坐行为。由于同一家庭的多名成员参与该计划，社会支持激发了身体活动的改变。参与者在心理、身体和社会健康方面都有改善。
即使在新冠疫情公共卫生限制措施下，为个人免费提供市售可穿戴技术和电子健康应用程序有可能在短期内促进身体活动增加并减少久坐行为。
